I have been here twice, most recently during the run of “Casino Royale” and it certainly is a must-see for lovers of classic cinema, given its history and, to a degree, its architecture and interior design (keeping in mind that interior modifications have apparently robbed it of some of the original detail). That said, I suspect that 70mm here would not be as impressive as it would be at the Empire (or as it would have been at the original Marble Arch). As others have noted, the screen and proscenium arch seem rather small, given the size of the auditorium. As a side note, if you ever get there, I recommend getting seats in the circle (balcony); even though one is further from the screen, seats there are newer and more comfortable, whereas the seats in the stalls (main floor) are older (and upholstered, if memory serves, in leopard skin design) with limited legroom.
I remember that I first saw this on its opening Friday at the now-vanished Gaslight Cinema in Petosky, MI with one of my old scuba-diving buddies; just a 35mm print in the original theater auditorium. It is still is, in my view, simply THE best of all the “Star Wars” installments. It makes mincemeat of the absurd claim that the middle installment in a trilogy has to be a weak or a “bridge” to the more exciting concluding part, an argument that was used to defend that wimpy, badly written, over-produced, under-directed “Attack of the Clones,” the middle part of those so-called prequels that came out so many years later. The richness of the characters, the intelligent, multi-layered storyline, the believable and often delightful dialogue, and the inspired direction of Lawrence Kasden gave this film its mythic and allegorical dimensions.
The opening attraction was “Battle of the Bulge;” based on the online translation of the pages on the theater’s website and the picture of the auditorium (see above, if it still is working), it would appear that this theater showed 70mm Cinerama productions.
Here;s a follow-up article; apparently the landlord is now looking for another theater operator even though Clearview packed up just about anything that could be removed: View link
Here’s an article that indicates that a screen is being installed and that film festivals will be part of the mix when the restoration work is finished: View link
It is in Wayne; Willowbrook is just the name of the mall the theater was in, and of a nearby road, on which is located the AMC Loew’s Wayne 14. The heading should be corrected.
The article, PB, is in error because of its headline and because the opening line states explicitly, “After 12 years in the community, the only movie theater serving Cedar Grove and Verona has gone out of business.” The theater has been “in the community” for over forty years. The writer apparently assumed that Clearview’s recorded announcement referring to the “past twelve years” indicated how long the theater had existed since its opening; he should have done more research.
I went there once, sometime in the early 1990s; yes, the highrise building it was in was (and is) rather striking, but beyond that, it was rather unremarkable as a cinema, a typical AMC multiplex of the late 1980s. The building is right on I-10, not far from the airport, in a big cluster of chain restaurants and hotels. There was not all much in the building other than the theater in terms of restaurants, stores, and other retail, and to call the shopping area a galleria struck me as rather an exaggeration.
It would seem to me then that this inside-the-mall theater was most likely never under Loew’s management. What is now the AMC Loew’s Wayne 14, at 67 Willowbrook Drive, was born as the Loew’s Wayne 6 in 1982 and has always had Loew’s as at least a part of its name. If this mall theater was known to be under Lenas' management up to at least 1978, it seems to me unlikely that Loew’s would have taken it over just to open a free-standing sixplex nearby just a few years later, but I suppose it could have happened.
I suppose, since Loew’s once operated it, it counts as a “Loew’s” theater, but for those of us who are or were Clevelanders at the time, it was basically a Loew’s-in-name-only.
The last truly genuine Loew’s built and operated theaters were Loew’s East in Richmond Heights and Loew’s West in Rocky River both of which opened in 1966. After the closing of the last of its former great downtown theaters (Stillman, State, and Ohio), Loew’s apparently wanted maintain a strong Cleveland presence, and so acquired a small chain of upper tier theaters around 1975 located in the suburbs of Cleveland which (if memory serves) included the Berea, the Yorktown, the Stillwell, the Riverside, and two fairly new theaters, the Showplace and the Village. When these closed over the next twenty-five odd years or so, the famed Loew’s name once synonymous with high class moviegoing in the Forest City, disappeared.
The articles are in error when they indicate the theater is twelve years old; that is probably only the length of Clearview’s management. The theater was originally a single screen that showed 70mm features in the 1970s, making this theater at least forty years old.
According to this blog entry: View link the Cinerama screen that was installed in the Rialto Theatre which was once across the street was moved to this theater with the intent of using it there to screen D-150 films.
However, this may not be accurate if the the information on Roland Lataille’s Cinerama site concerning the Louisville Palace is accurate. The information there indicates that after Cinerama runs, a flat screen was installed at the Rialto, and then a D-150 screen. If a screen was moved from the Rialto to the Palace, it may have been this D-150 screen.
I have been here twice, most recently during the run of “Casino Royale” and it certainly is a must-see for lovers of classic cinema, given its history and, to a degree, its architecture and interior design (keeping in mind that interior modifications have apparently robbed it of some of the original detail). That said, I suspect that 70mm here would not be as impressive as it would be at the Empire (or as it would have been at the original Marble Arch). As others have noted, the screen and proscenium arch seem rather small, given the size of the auditorium. As a side note, if you ever get there, I recommend getting seats in the circle (balcony); even though one is further from the screen, seats there are newer and more comfortable, whereas the seats in the stalls (main floor) are older (and upholstered, if memory serves, in leopard skin design) with limited legroom.
I remember that I first saw this on its opening Friday at the now-vanished Gaslight Cinema in Petosky, MI with one of my old scuba-diving buddies; just a 35mm print in the original theater auditorium. It is still is, in my view, simply THE best of all the “Star Wars” installments. It makes mincemeat of the absurd claim that the middle installment in a trilogy has to be a weak or a “bridge” to the more exciting concluding part, an argument that was used to defend that wimpy, badly written, over-produced, under-directed “Attack of the Clones,” the middle part of those so-called prequels that came out so many years later. The richness of the characters, the intelligent, multi-layered storyline, the believable and often delightful dialogue, and the inspired direction of Lawrence Kasden gave this film its mythic and allegorical dimensions.
The opening attraction was “Battle of the Bulge;” based on the online translation of the pages on the theater’s website and the picture of the auditorium (see above, if it still is working), it would appear that this theater showed 70mm Cinerama productions.
Huh? The article I just posted said nothing about “peaceful demonstrators”!
This theater has been destroyed as a result widespread rioting in the city: View link
This theater has now been officiallyy designated as a Texas landmark: View link
Here;s a follow-up article; apparently the landlord is now looking for another theater operator even though Clearview packed up just about anything that could be removed: View link
An article from 30 March 2010: View link
Here’s an article that indicates that a screen is being installed and that film festivals will be part of the mix when the restoration work is finished: View link
It is in Wayne; Willowbrook is just the name of the mall the theater was in, and of a nearby road, on which is located the AMC Loew’s Wayne 14. The heading should be corrected.
This picture of the interior has been posted before, but the previous links do not seem to work: View link
The article, PB, is in error because of its headline and because the opening line states explicitly, “After 12 years in the community, the only movie theater serving Cedar Grove and Verona has gone out of business.” The theater has been “in the community” for over forty years. The writer apparently assumed that Clearview’s recorded announcement referring to the “past twelve years” indicated how long the theater had existed since its opening; he should have done more research.
I went there once, sometime in the early 1990s; yes, the highrise building it was in was (and is) rather striking, but beyond that, it was rather unremarkable as a cinema, a typical AMC multiplex of the late 1980s. The building is right on I-10, not far from the airport, in a big cluster of chain restaurants and hotels. There was not all much in the building other than the theater in terms of restaurants, stores, and other retail, and to call the shopping area a galleria struck me as rather an exaggeration.
This article indicates that theater operators are now looking to expand in the greater Pittsburgh area market, at least in outlying areas: View link
It looks like efforts are underway to give this theater another makeover: View link
It would seem to me then that this inside-the-mall theater was most likely never under Loew’s management. What is now the AMC Loew’s Wayne 14, at 67 Willowbrook Drive, was born as the Loew’s Wayne 6 in 1982 and has always had Loew’s as at least a part of its name. If this mall theater was known to be under Lenas' management up to at least 1978, it seems to me unlikely that Loew’s would have taken it over just to open a free-standing sixplex nearby just a few years later, but I suppose it could have happened.
They even packed up the popcorn, according to this later version of the article. Folks at another Clearview theater are in for a treat. View link
I suppose, since Loew’s once operated it, it counts as a “Loew’s” theater, but for those of us who are or were Clevelanders at the time, it was basically a Loew’s-in-name-only.
The last truly genuine Loew’s built and operated theaters were Loew’s East in Richmond Heights and Loew’s West in Rocky River both of which opened in 1966. After the closing of the last of its former great downtown theaters (Stillman, State, and Ohio), Loew’s apparently wanted maintain a strong Cleveland presence, and so acquired a small chain of upper tier theaters around 1975 located in the suburbs of Cleveland which (if memory serves) included the Berea, the Yorktown, the Stillwell, the Riverside, and two fairly new theaters, the Showplace and the Village. When these closed over the next twenty-five odd years or so, the famed Loew’s name once synonymous with high class moviegoing in the Forest City, disappeared.
A Facebook group has formed – with over 2,400 persons signed on so far – with the intent of helping preserve this theater: View link
The articles are in error when they indicate the theater is twelve years old; that is probably only the length of Clearview’s management. The theater was originally a single screen that showed 70mm features in the 1970s, making this theater at least forty years old.
The Lake, now the Lakeshore 7, is in Euclid: View link
This site has a number of pictures of this theater over the years: View link
According to this blog entry: View link the Cinerama screen that was installed in the Rialto Theatre which was once across the street was moved to this theater with the intent of using it there to screen D-150 films.
However, this may not be accurate if the the information on Roland Lataille’s Cinerama site concerning the Louisville Palace is accurate. The information there indicates that after Cinerama runs, a flat screen was installed at the Rialto, and then a D-150 screen. If a screen was moved from the Rialto to the Palace, it may have been this D-150 screen.
This site has a picture of the theater’s interior and Cinerama screen: View link
According to this article, a venture called Mystic Cinema is now showing classic films here on an occasional basis: View link
The Mystic Cinema website is: http://www.mysticcinema.com